San Diego 
Jerry Brown on Monday in San Diego promoted his tax measure to raise $6 billion annually for education and other state services, promising “real suffering by you and really our whole future” if the proposal fails in November.

Flanked by local educators, parents and students, Brown cast Proposition 30 as a choice between raising levies on millionaires or allowing drastic cuts to education and public safety.

The measure would affect more than just the wealthy, Brown acknowledged. It would increase the sales tax a quarter-cent for five years and hike income taxes on a sliding scale for seven years on those making more than $250,000 a year.

Opponents of the proposition contend the governor offers a false choice between hiking taxes or cutting education spending. Brown’s critics, including business and taxpayer interests, argue that more responsible stewardship of state finances would better meet the challenges presented by a multibillion dollar budget gap.

Quoting from the New Testament, the governor said he’s merely asking for the most blessed, the most fortunate, to give back “just a little bit to share so that our schools don’t get cut back.”

“We’re all in it together, with those who have the most contributing the most,” Brown told a throng of students gathered on the first day of classes at San Diego City College. “As Saint Luke in the Gospel said, ‘To those who much has been given, much will be required.’”

Supporters waved signs with messages such as “Tax the rich!” and “Fund the future.”

Opponents say the state needs to make tougher spending choices rather than raise taxes. They also have noted that the state recently discovered millions of unspent money, notably in a secret reserve of some $54 million in the state parks department.

“The parks scandal is in and of itself problematic for politicians asking for more taxes, but now that is starting to expose the corruption, the wastefulness, the not-minding-the-store that’s happening in state government,” said Aaron McLear, the spokesman for No on 30.

Citing the California School Boards Association, which supports the measure, McLear noted the governor’s proposal would provide no new funding for schools. Brown has consistently argued that it will prevent more cuts rather than add funding.

“I think what we are seeing is the myths of Prop. 30 are crumbling, and the politicians pushing for the $50 billion tax hike have been reduced to threatening voters,” McLear said.

Brown pushed back against the parks fund issue, saying the newly identified money would be helpful as the state works to open more parks in future years. Still, he conceded there are warts and defects in the government, just as there are in the “people who work for the media, whether electronic or print.

“We all have our weaknesses, and I acknowledge that,” he said.

Most of the money raised by Proposition 30 would go to avoiding $5 billion in midyear cuts to K-12 schools and $1 billion for higher education. It also would guarantee a minimum amount of funding to counties for assuming responsibility for more state prisoners and parolees.

Constance Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, said passage of the measure was critical for the statewide system and its thousands of students across the county. The district already has eliminated more than 2,000 class sections, Carroll said.

“If Proposition 30 fails, however, we will all lose more classes,” she said, pegging total reductions at 7,000 classes, meaning 20,000 students would be turned away. “This is a time to determine whether California wants to move forward with opportunity or backward the way we have been,” she said.

For San Diego Unified, the impact remains unclear, but the district could cut 14 days from the school year under an agreement reached with the teachers union. The district had already trimmed the school year by five days to help balance last year’s budget.

On Monday, Brown said he returned to the governor’s office to solve problems that plagued the state for more than a decade. His efforts have called for making tough choices such as slashing billions from safety-net programs, he said.

“I came back to tell you the truth. This is not about politics,” he said. “This is about a choice by the people of California: Do we want to invest in our schools? Do we want to protect public safety, or not?”

Proponents of a rival measure assert the governor’s plan would do less to aid schools than their Proposition 38. That measure, supported by Los Angeles-based attorney Molly Munger, would raise income taxes on nearly all Californians to fund schools and childhood development programs.

A recent Field Poll found 54 percent of respondents in favor of Brown’s tax measure and 38 percent opposed. Voters were split at 46 percent on Munger’s initiative.